Sandburg men run out of gas vs. Golden Eagles in Region 4 semis
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Carl Sandburg College (22-10) | 31 | 31 | 62 |
|
Rock Valley College (24-7) | 37 | 38 | 75 |
ROCKFORD — Rock Valley pulled away in the final 14 minutes to end the Sandburg men's basketball team's season with a 75-62 loss in the semifinals of the Region 4 Division II District B tournament Sunday evening.
The Chargers, the No. 10 seed in the region, finished with a 22-10 overall record for their fourth 20-win campaign in the last eight full seasons.
Second-seeded Rock Valley advances to Saturday's championship, where it will face South Suburban.
Sandburg trailed 33-21 in the first half against the Golden Eagles (25-7) after a 19-3 stretch by the tournament hosts. A pair of 3-pointers from sophomore Matt Bockman helped the Chargers pull within 37-31 at halftime.
An 8-0 Sandburg run pulled the Chargers even in the second half. Bockman opened the run with a trey, Ralph Wires hit a pair of free throws and Gavin Grothaus converted a three-point play to tie the game at 43-43 with 14:19 to play.
Rock Valley, though, answered with 11 straight points and never trailed again while holding the Chargers scoreless for nearly 5 minutes.
Four Sandburg starters scored in double figures in the loss, led by Bockman's 15 points on a 5-for-7 night from 3-point range. His five makes from beyond the arc were a career high.
Wires had 14 points, including a perfect 4 of 4 at the foul line in his final game as a Charger. Sophomore Keauntrey Barnes played all 40 minutes and recorded a double-double, totaling 13 points and a game-best 11 rebounds.
Freshman Rylan Carton scored a dozen while going 5 of 9 from the field before fouling out with 5:48 to play. Carton also led Sandburg with five assists.
Rock Valley's Cameron Reed led all players with 22 points. He also had six rebounds, five assists and four steals.